Wilderness Lodge and Dinner Dilemmas. Help please!

[tomzpc]

Hi everyone!

Our family of 4(my wife and I plus daughters 7 and 4) will be staying at the WL for our disney vacation. I think that I made some mistakes in my early dinner planning that have to be addressed and I'd appreciate any thoughts.

1-First of all I wasn't planning that we would spend a full day in any park without heading back to the WL for a break after lunch so with that in mind I didn't limit our dinner ADR's to the park we would be in that day. I think now I understand though that we would need to have the park hopper option on our tickets if for instance we were to be spending the morning and early afternoon in MK but had dinner ADR at Coral Reef in Epcot. Is this correct about the need for the park hopper?

2-On three nights I made ADR's at restaurants in other resorts(Boma at AK, Chef Mickeys at Contemp. and Park Fare at GF). Someone mentioned somewhere that the buses don't go from resort to resort so if that's the case what is the best means of transport(aside from paying for a cab) to get from the WL to these other resorts and how much time does it take each way? I'm a little concerned about spending an hour to and hour and a half riding a bus back and forth to dinner, particularly with the kids in tow.

3-For those who have stayed at WL or eaten at the restaurants there, are Artist Point and Whispering Canyon worth eating at more than once? I hear great things about Boma for example but I'm beginning to wonder if we'd be better off having more meals at WL which would give us more down time to relax as opposed to riding buses back and forth for meals.

Thanks so much....

Tom in NY

 

[Deb & Bill]

You can't enter a park to dine without appropriate park admission. So if you don't have a park hopper, you won't be able to eat in a different theme park than you were in during the morning hours for your dinner meal. You'll either need to add hopping to your ticket or change your plans for the parks and go back to the park you went to in the morning.

In order to get to other resorts, you'll need to take a cab, take a bus to DTD and then to the other resort or take the boat to the MK then get a bus to the resort you want to eat at. Or you'll need a rental car.

I wouldn't eat at the WC or AP multiple times. Many people like both of these, but I'm not a fan. Once would be enough for me. More than enough. But you could easily take the boat to the MK or Contemporary and dine at the MK resorts - several good ones there, especially for the kids - Chef Mickey at the CR, 1900 Park Faire at GF, Ohana at the Polynesian. Just hop the monorail at the CR to get to the Polynesian or GF.

 

[tomzpc]

Can you take the boat from WL directly to the Contemporary?

 

[CEDmom]

Hi everyone!

Our family of 4(my wife and I plus daughters 7 and 4) will be staying at the WL for our disney vacation. I think that I made some mistakes in my early dinner planning that have to be addressed and I'd appreciate any thoughts.

1-First of all I wasn't planning that we would spend a full day in any park without heading back to the WL for a break after lunch so with that in mind I didn't limit our dinner ADR's to the park we would be in that day. I think now I understand though that we would need to have the park hopper option on our tickets if for instance we were to be spending the morning and early afternoon in MK but had dinner ADR at Coral Reef in Epcot. Is this correct about the need for the park hopper?

2-On three nights I made ADR's at restaurants in other resorts(Boma at AK, Chef Mickeys at Contemp. and Park Fare at GF). Someone mentioned somewhere that the buses don't go from resort to resort so if that's the case what is the best means of transport(aside from paying for a cab) to get from the WL to these other resorts and how much time does it take each way? I'm a little concerned about spending an hour to and hour and a half riding a bus back and forth to dinner, particularly with the kids in tow.

3-For those who have stayed at WL or eaten at the restaurants there, are Artist Point and Whispering Canyon worth eating at more than once? I hear great things about Boma for example but I'm beginning to wonder if we'd be better off having more meals at WL which would give us more down time to relax as opposed to riding buses back and forth for meals.

Thanks so much....

Tom in NY

1 - You will need park hopper passes to go to more than 1 park in the same day. I think with kids it's definitely worth having these. You never know when they'll get overwhelmed at MK for instance but do fine once you switch over to Epcot.

2 - Getting to the CR and GF are easy from WL. There's a boat directly to CR or you can take the MK boat and hop on the monorail. You can also take the MK boat and then the monorail to GF. I'd say add another 15 minutes to the time the boat take from WL to MK to get to either resorts.

For AKL the best thing would be to take the boat to MK and then switch to an AKL bus. The thing you have to worry about is going back to your resort and park closing times. Hopefully on the night you go to AKL one of the resorts will have EMH so just take the bus to that park and switch to a WL bus or take a bus to DTD and switch there. The trip between WL and AKL could take a while because you may be waiting for buses.

3 - I think eating in the resort restaurants multiple times could get boring. Roaring Forks has pretty good food though so that could be an option one night.

Have a great trip.

 

[Wendy31]

From the WL to eat at Chef Mickey's -

Take the boat from the WL boat dock straight to the Contemporary Resort. Depending on how long you have to wait for the boat, this should take about 15-20 minutes.

From the WL to eat at 1900 Park Fare at the GF -

Take the boat from the WL boat dock to the Contemporary Resort. At the CR, walk to the monorail, and ride the monorail to the GF. This should take about 20-30 minutes maybe.

From the WL to eat at Boma -

You can either ride the boat from the WL to the MK & then get on a bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Or, you can ride the bus from the WL to the Animal Kingdom & then get on a bus to the AKL. Maybe 30-45 minutes?

 

[mousescene]

Updated: Man, I guess I gotta start typing faster... four other people responded while I was typing my response!

Tom, hope these answers help! We're going to WL in April (first time staying at WL as a family), and have eaten there on almost every trip...

1- Yes, you will need park admission to go to a restaurant in a park, so in order to do what you are planning, you will need park hopper tickets.

2- Yes, buses do not go from resort to resort. Your best bet (if not taking a taxi) would probably be to catch a boat to MK or a bus to DTD and then to the other resort. The time definitely adds up, and I would suggest limiting the number of evenings you do this! This is something we find ourselves doing less and less of with each trip to WDW -- we now usually try to take more advantage of dining closer to our resort or in a park that we are already going to be in.

3- My wife and I both really like Artist Point and Whispering Canyon. We are planning on eating at Artist Point twice on our April trip because we love it so much!

 

[tomzpc]

You guys have been extremely helpful! Thanks so much!

Tom

 

[Deb & Bill]

There are two different boats for the WL. One goes to the MK (larger of the two). The other goes to CR and Fort Wilderness.

 

[Traveliz]

Updated: Man, I guess I gotta start typing faster... four other people responded while I was typing my response!

Tom, hope these answers help! We're going to WL in April (first time staying at WL as a family), and have eaten there on almost every trip...

1- Yes, you will need park admission to go to a restaurant in a park, so in order to do what you are planning, you will need park hopper tickets.

2- Yes, buses do not go from resort to resort. Your best bet (if not taking a taxi) would probably be to catch a boat to MK or a bus to DTD and then to the other resort. The time definitely adds up, and I would suggest limiting the number of evenings you do this! This is something we find ourselves doing less and less of with each trip to WDW -- we now usually try to take more advantage of dining closer to our resort or in a park that we are already going to be in.

3- My wife and I both really like Artist Point and Whispering Canyon. We are planning on eating at Artist Point twice on our April trip because we love it so much!

Under no circumstances would I recommend taking a bus from WL to DTD to get a bus to another resort - -especially for the ones you are talking about going to -- as another poster mentioned getting to CR and GF from WL are easy enough and AKL is manageable by catching a bus from a theme park.

The bus to DTD is out of the way and is often a long ride with too many stops.

Liz

 

[tomzpc]

What's DTD? Trying to learn all of the abbreviations but haven't run across that one yet.

 

[CEDmom]

What's DTD? Trying to learn all of the abbreviations but haven't run across that one yet.

Downtown Disney. This would be my last choice of a place to catch the bus to my resort. Only do this if none of the parks have EMH the night you're going to AKL. I do believe at least one park has EMH every night so that shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Disney grandma]

Getting to the GF and Contemporary resorts will be no problem from WL. Ohana's at the Polynesian is a wonderful meal and atmosphere. They also have a character breakfast which is Lilo and Stitch and we enjoy that very much. It would be less hectic to go to the monorail resorts but if you allow plenty of time Boma is very good and the atmosphere at AKL is very nice. If possible get your ADR at a park you plan on being that day. Then you don't need a park hopper unless you really want to go to more than one park per day. We found that reserving a couple lunches made the day go better and that way you are sure to still be in the park without park hopping. Coral Reef at Epcot is beautiful and the food good. It actually worked out better for us because that way you aren't tied down every night for dinner reservations which usually take about 2 hours out of your day.

 

[Samsma]

yes, there is a boat directly to the Contemporary. If I were you, I'd use a crowd predictor like Tour Guide Mike, figure out which park would be best for each day of your trip, then make the ADR's you want if any of them are at a park. This is how we do it, and it works out well. You're not wearing yourself out rushing to get to somewhere else if you're having a good time. If you need help, let us know!

 

[kujoman]

For what it's worth, we (my family of 4, same age kids) ate at Boma last time at WDW and it was as good of food as any we have eaten at for all of our trips to WDW. That being said, it is out of the way compared to any of the Poly or other monorail spots, given your location.

My suggestion would depend on whether you are going to go to AK. If you are going to go to the AK Park, go there late morning or early afternoon (get a lazy start to the day), go from there to AKL, spend some time there looking at the hotel and the animals since it is quite a place, and go to dinner. After dinner, take a bus to MK, and take the boat or a bus home.

If you are not going to AK Park, then I would skip Boma.

BTW, you will want Park Hoppers. Depending on when you go, keep an eye on "The Codes" as they usually include free park hoppers.

Given the age of our kids being the same (and we have stayed at AKL, CSR, Poly) and spent a lot of time at all parks, let me know if you have any kids-age group related questions.

When are you going?

 

[mamacate]

We loved Boma last year with two five-year-olds. After an early dinner we wandered out into the savannah area and looked at the animals. Then by chance we happened upon a CM telling African folktales around a firepit, and then all the kids got to have a drumming parade. It was pretty magical. I'd recommend it (plus I loved the food!).

I think the plan to take a boat to MK and then a bus to AKL is a great one. Even if you're not going to AK, AKL is also very near to Blizzard Beach--if you're going there, you could schedule a trip to Boma that evening, and then make it an early night.

Have a great trip, whatever you decide!

Cate